A former substitute teacher convicted of showing a movie including graphic sex and violence to a Columbus high school class has been sentenced to 90 days in jail.

A jury convicted Sheila Kearns of four felony counts in January. Kearns apologized in court Wednesday, saying she hadn’t watched the movie before showing it to her Spanish classes at Columbus’ East High School in April 2013.

The movie is called “The ABCs of Death” and consists of 26 chapters, each depicting some form of grisly death, such as “E is for Exterminate.”

The judge placed Kearns on probation for three years but made the jail time a condition of probation.

The Goodale Park rally came days after civil unrest following the shooting death of an unarmed teenager by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael Brown’s death has led to an uproar for the release of the name of the officer involved in the shooting.

Authorities are expected to release the officer’s name on Friday.

Ohio State graduate Brook Butler organized the rally. It included a moment of silence.

Butler has a young brother she fears for everyday. She says police departments have become militarized.

“The police need to be de-militarized. The fact that they have the weaponry that they use on citizens doesn’t sit well with me,” said Butler.

The head of Common Cause Ohio, Samuel Gresham says history is repeating itself. He says the Columbus rally is the first of several others planned in Ohio. He says racial violence often results from fear.

A report says inmate-on-inmate assaults increased nearly 100 percent in two years at a north-central Ohio prison, higher than the statewide average.

The report says disturbances at Mansfield Correctional Institution also went up, while guards at the 2,500-inmate facility say morale is low.

The analysis by the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee notes the prison has a challenging inmate population with frequent gang-related incidents and numerous inmates transferred in because of discipline problems.

The report was issued just days before a convicted rapist escaped from the prison Wednesday only to be captured 24 hours later.

The report says conditions are improving under Warden Terry Tibbals and that Mansfield is the only prison of those with the same security level statewide to reduce its total violent incident rate two years running.

President Obama on Wednesday called for a series of reforms in an effort to control the sale and use of guns in this country.

Kelly Cameron is one of the founders of the Columbus Chapter of “One Million Moms For Gun Control,” a national group supporting restrictions on gun ownership. Cameron says for her, the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School last month were “a wake-up call.”

She says members have posted e-mail addresses and phone numbers for politicians in Ohio on the group’s Facebook page.

Cameron says “One Million Moms For Gun Control” is planning a march on Washington on January 26th. And she says the group plans a rally on the New York City Hall steps to reinforce non-violence next Monday, Martin Luther King Day.

The Columbus chapter plans a rally in February to show support for what they call common sense gun laws.

Click here to hear from Central Ohio gun owners who are concerned the President’s actions are eroding their Second Amendment rights.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/01/16/columbus-moms-will-press-for-passage-of-gun-restrictions/feed/0gun restrictions,One million Moms for Gun Control,violenceCalling the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school a wake-up call, Kelly Cameron established the Columbus chapter of 'One Million Moms For Gun Control.'Calling the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school a wake-up call, Kelly Cameron established the Columbus chapter of 'One Million Moms For Gun Control.'WOSU Newsno2:08ACLU, Mansfield Schools Disagree Over “Threat” Of Violencehttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/29/aclu-mansfield-schools-disagree-over-threat-of-violence/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/29/aclu-mansfield-schools-disagree-over-threat-of-violence/#commentsTue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000Steve Brownhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/29/aclu-mansfield-schools-disagree-over-threat-of-violence/

The American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing school officials in Mansfield for going back on a promise to let the local Tea Party use a school gymnasium for an event Monday night.

The American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing school officials in Mansfield for going back on a promise to let the local Tea Party use a school gymnasium for an event last night

School administrator say a routine request to use a school gymnasium just got out of hand. The district, as it often does, lent the space to the North Central Ohio Tea Party, which invited Usama Dakdok, a controversial author and public speaker who preaches against radical Islam and tries to convert Muslims to Christianity.

Mansfield City Schools superintendant Dan Freund says he canceled the event after hearing some demonstrators were planning a protest outside the school.

“My goal as a superintendant is to protect students and to provide a safe environment. We have students in the building into the evening hours and not too many staff there,” Freund says.

But the ACLU says those perceived threats were too vague. The executive director of the ALCU’s Ohio office, Chris Link, says the district should have let Dakdok speak.

“The duty of the government – law enforcement and school officials – is not to suppress the speaker, but to keep the speak safe if indeed there are threats of violence,” Link says.

The North Central Ohio Tea Party did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but on a voicemail greeting says it will reschedule the event.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/03/29/aclu-mansfield-schools-disagree-over-threat-of-violence/feed/0aclu,mansfield,violenceThe American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing school officials in Mansfield for going back on a promise to let the local Tea Party use a school gymnasium for an event Monday night.The American Civil Liberties Union is criticizing school officials in Mansfield for going back on a promise to let the local Tea Party use a school gymnasium for an event Monday night.WOSU Newsno1:13Columbus Woman Overcomes Gunshot Wound To The Headhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/18/columbus-woman-overcomes-gunshot-wound-to-the-head/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/18/columbus-woman-overcomes-gunshot-wound-to-the-head/#commentsTue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000Debbie Holmeshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/18/columbus-woman-overcomes-gunshot-wound-to-the-head/The recent shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords brought back memories of the nightmare that happened to one Columbus woman in 2006. Her family believes that her survival is also a miracle.

]]>The recent shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords brought back memories of the nightmare that happened to one Columbus woman in 2006. Her family believes that her survival is also a miracle.

21 year old Rachel Barezinsky slowly places chips inside the Connect 4 game. She manages to hold the chip with her left hand even though it was severely damaged from the shooting. When she was 17 Barezinsky was shot in the back of her head on the right side and the bullet crossed her brain and lodged in the left frontal lobe.

“My greatest deficit would be my lack of short term memory because that part of the brain was also injured. But I’ve graduated from speech therapy which focused on teaching me memory strategies to help compensate for that,” said Barezinsky.

Five years ago a Worthington man fired shots at Barezinsky and her friends who were in a car near his property. He thought Rachel and her friends were trespassing and is serving 19 years behind bars. For Barezinsky it has been a long road in recovery from learning how to walk and talk again. Rachel first used a wheelchair when she left the hospital. She also had to wear a helmet during her senior year in high school. Doctors had to replace part of the right side of her skull with cranioplasty due to the extensive bullet damage. Chairman and Professor of Neurosurgery at OSU Medical Center Dr. Ennio Chiocca was one of Barezinsky’s physicians.

“We can only do so much as physicians and doctors and sometimes there’s an element of chance and luck and in this case the bullet crossed from side to side, but interesting enough did not hit any of the critical brain structures. If it had been off one millimeter this may have turned out to be a much worse event, explained Chiocca.

National statistics show that only 5 percent of people who sustain such gunshot wounds survive.

Barezinsky’ father Greg says a nurse at the hospital called Rachel a miracle.

“And she said you’ve got to understand Greg, Rachel’s a miracle and we don’t see miracles like this all the time and we need to see this,” said Barezinsky.

He says the recent shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who also has shown signs of recovery, brought back many unpleasant memories of the day his daughter was shot.

“I know what they’re going through, it’s devastating. You don’t know the future and the doctors can’t tell you the future. Every brain injury is different and when it’s a gunshot wound they just don’t know,” said Barezinsky.

Barezinsky wants her story to be an inspiration to Giffords.

“I thought wow, I need to reach out and help her and her family like so many reached out to me and my family when I was first injured,” explained Barezinsky.

Volunteers redesigned the first floor powder room in her father and stepmother’s home into a full bathroom that is wheel-chair accessible. And the dining room was converted into Rachel’s bedroom. Rachel’s mother also moved into a one story house to make it easier for her daughter to maneuver.

Since last October, Rachel works as a clerk four days a week at a dentist’s office. She also volunteers on Friday at her alma mater Thomas Worthington High School where she graduated with her class in 2007. “I like the fact that it allows me to be independent there. Because for the longest time especially when I was first injured I had an aide,” said Barezinsky. She hopes one day to make more of her dreams come true.

“After high school I always wanted to go to college to become a teacher an elementary school teacher and I always wanted to have a family of my own one day. I still would like to have a family of my own one day and I would like to go to college,” added Barezinsky.

Rachel says she is interested in becoming a motivational speaker.

As she exercises on her treadmill, Rachel Barezinsky will keep working toward making her dreams reality, one step at a time.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/18/columbus-woman-overcomes-gunshot-wound-to-the-head/feed/0barezinsky,gunshot,violenceThe recent shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords brought back memories of the nightmare that happened to one Columbus woman in 2006. Her family believes that her survival is also a miracle.The recent shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords brought back memories of the nightmare that happened to one Columbus woman in 2006. Her family believes that her survival is also a miracle.WOSU Newsno4:14Despite Reports of Spike, Gun Stores Fail To See Increase in Saleshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/17/despite-reports-of-spike-gun-stores-fail-to-see-increase-in-sales/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/17/despite-reports-of-spike-gun-stores-fail-to-see-increase-in-sales/#commentsMon, 17 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000Sam Hendrenhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/17/despite-reports-of-spike-gun-stores-fail-to-see-increase-in-sales/Some Ohioans recently read in the paper or heard on the news that requests for gun background checks in the state had jumped 65 percent. The report compared applications from Monday, January 10th with those from the same day in 2010. But local gun shops are not seeing a similar jump in sales.

]]>Some Ohioans recently read in the paper or heard on the news that requests for gun background checks in the state had jumped 65 percent. The report compared requests from Monday, January 10th with those from the same day in 2010. The dramatic increase, the report suggested, came about because of the shootings in Arizona. But confirming those numbers has been difficult.

At Black Wing Shooting Center near Delaware, gun owners target-practice at the store’s indoor firing range. The floor is littered with empty shell casings as men fire round after round at paper targets.

Black Wing Shooting Center has a huge inventory of guns. But according to the store’s retail sales manager, Ron Messick, there has not been a spike in sales.

“We haven’t seen any increases in sales at all, I mean regular sales are going, we sell guns every day but we haven’t seen any crazy increase,” Messick says. “But it could happen anytime soon, the way the media throws out all the terror out there that always breeds sales.”

Several other central Ohio gun dealers said they had not experienced increased sales either. So what accounts for the reported 65 percent increase? Toby Hoover heads the group Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence.

“We immediately tried to track it down,” Hoover says. “From what we can tell there may have been a small inquiry done through the FBI by maybe one media outlet. Looks like it was maybe focused on Arizona. We can’t really tell.”

Hoover says that, so far, her group has been unsuccessful in finding the source of the statistic.

“We don’t know where this information came from,” Hoover says. “We were equally alarmed at this 65 percent supposedly in Ohio but we think that maybe it’s just something that people have exaggerated; we don’t know. Nobody can seem to find where the source is.”

The news article says the FBI is the source of the information. But Bill Carter, an FBI spokesman in Washington says the Bureau does not release such date-specific numbers. Rather the figures it releases are year-by-year comparisons. Still an officer in the Buckeye Firearms Association believes that stockpiling does occur when people become fearful that their guns will be taken away. Linda Walker is the group’s Central Ohio Chair.

“With the devastating massacre in Arizona, especially with the political climate that we’ve got right now people get real concerned about their 2nd Amendment rights,” Walker says. “So generally that’s when you see people going out and quickly purchasing whatever they feel could be potentially legislated against.”

Even though the reported spike in gun sales has not been corroborated, Linda Walker says it is feasible that gun purchases have actually increased. Toby Hoover of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence has a different take.

“It always concerns us when people are reacting in fear and running out to buy more guns because we don’t believe that guns are the answer to any of this,” Hoover says.

The availability of large capacity magazines – those are the clips that hold extra rounds of ammunition – are now a concern. That’s because the Arizona shooter had a clip that held more than 30 bullets for his nine millimeter handgun. Toby Hoover says such high capacity magazines should not be allowed.

“Nobody should be going around with the capability of shooting 20 people in a half a minute,” Hoover says. “To have a magazine that has that many rounds in it is totally uncalled for and I think the far majority of people in America agree with that.”

Ron Messick at Black Wing Shooting Center says there has been a slight increase in interest for the high capacity magazines.

“We’ve sold a couple of extra ones; you know we’ve had people calling. As far as magazines flying out of here and us not being able to get a hold of them, I don’t see that happening,” Messick says.

FBI statistics for the week after the Arizona shootings won’t be available until 2012.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2011/01/17/despite-reports-of-spike-gun-stores-fail-to-see-increase-in-sales/feed/0buckeye,center,coalition,firesarms,gun,hoover,linda,messick,shooting,toby,tucson,violenceSome Ohioans recently read in the paper or heard on the news that requests for gun background checks in the state had jumped 65 percent. The report compared applications from Monday, January 10th with those from the same day in 2010.Some Ohioans recently read in the paper or heard on the news that requests for gun background checks in the state had jumped 65 percent. The report compared applications from Monday, January 10th with those from the same day in 2010. But local gun shops are not seeing a similar jump in sales.WOSU Newsno4:12Gun Stopper Program Aimed At Fighting Gun Violencehttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/09/16/gun-stopper-program-aimed-at-fighting-gun-violence/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/09/16/gun-stopper-program-aimed-at-fighting-gun-violence/#commentsThu, 16 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000Debbie Holmeshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/09/16/gun-stopper-program-aimed-at-fighting-gun-violence/A new effort to get illegal guns off the streets is launched by Columbus City officials.

]]>Columbus City Mayor Michael Coleman announced today a new program to remove illegal guns off the streets.

So far this year there have been 77 murders. That’s up from 55 at this time last year. A rash of teen killings over the summer led Columbus police to start new measures like community response teams. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman announced today a new program he believes can be effective in getting illegal weapons off the street. It’s called Gun Stoppers.

“We will reward up to $1 thousand dollars for a tip that leads to an arrest and the recovery of a gun. We have to take these illegal guns off the streets,” said Coleman.

All calls will be anonymous. Coleman adds other efforts will be extended like the Community response teams. An additional 30 officers will be assigned year round to patrol high risk communities. Coleman says more community input can lead to more arrests. He says 60 percent of homicides have been solved this year.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/09/16/gun-stopper-program-aimed-at-fighting-gun-violence/feed/0guns,murder,police,violenceA new effort to get illegal guns off the streets is launched by Columbus City officials.A new effort to get illegal guns off the streets is launched by Columbus City officials.WOSU Newsno57North Side Residents Fear More Teen Violencehttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/08/13/north-side-residents-fear-more-teen-violence/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/08/13/north-side-residents-fear-more-teen-violence/#commentsFri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000Debbie Holmeshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/08/13/north-side-residents-fear-more-teen-violence/A city-wide effort by Columbus Police to stop teen violence and prevent hot spots for crime is getting criticism from some residents. They are worried not enough officers remain on the streets and too much gun violence is still occurring.

]]>A city-wide effort by Columbus Police to stop teen violence and prevent hotspots for crime is getting criticism from some residents. They are worried not enough officers remain on the streets and too much gun violence is still occurring.

North side resident Thealeta Jackson is becoming more concerned about teen violence.

“The less you see the police officers the more that goes on behind the scene,” said Jackson.

She says she has not seen as many police patrols since July when police redistricting took effect. Jackson who lives in the Linden area says the sounds of gunfire happen often on her street.

“It’s not uncommon to hear people shooting guns off. You just get to a place that you know you can put as many walls between you and where you hear the gunfire. I don’t run outside to see who’s firing the gun. I make sure I’m putting myself in a safe place,” explained Jackson.

An increase in teen violence this summer has left 5 teens dead since June. So far this year, 20 young people ages 20 and under have been killed. Columbus Police Sgt. Dean Worthington explains police patrols have not been reduced.

“We’re still maintaining our patrol levels that we’ve had in the past. You know her perception may be that there’s less crews out there but we haven’t reduced the number of cruisers that are in patrol,” said Worthington.

Worthington adds community response teams have been added to use bike patrols that target hot spots where crime occurs.

“It’s just that we can’t saturate the city with these teams all at once. Because what we want to do is focus on an area, go into that area, have a large police presence and then move on to the next hot spot area,” Worthington said. Worthington would not say how many bike patrols there are. A gun violence reduction team is also focusing on getting guns out of the hands of teenagers. That program started in the early part of this summer. Sgt. Worthington however, would not reveal the number of weapons taken off the streets since the program is ongoing. Pastor of Kingdom Life Church at the corner of Fifth and Cleveland Avenues, Mary Ellen Crutcher, supports police efforts to stop the violence. She blames a down economy and desperation for the bad choices teens make. “People need hope and people need to really know the love of God. They really need to know the love of community. They really need to know that there are people that genuinely care about them. And that there are ways they can be helped if they would open themselves up to the help,” explained Crutcher.

Crutcher is skeptical tougher gun laws would help since teens are currently not allowed to carry guns. Crutcher’s church has reached out to various community groups and other churches to find solutions on reaching troubled teens and give them hope for the future before they turn to violence.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2010/08/13/north-side-residents-fear-more-teen-violence/feed/0guns,police,teen,violenceA city-wide effort by Columbus Police to stop teen violence and prevent hot spots for crime is getting criticism from some residents. They are worried not enough officers remain on the streets and too much gun violence is still occurring.A city-wide effort by Columbus Police to stop teen violence and prevent hot spots for crime is getting criticism from some residents. They are worried not enough officers remain on the streets and too much gun violence is still occurring.WOSU Newsno2:30